India contracts to import 5,000 tons sugar

NEW DEHLI:
Indian traders have sealed deals to import about 5,000 tonnes of white sugar from Pakistan, which has just allowed an extra 200,000 tonnes of overseas sales of the sweetener, Indian trade sources said on Thursday.

â€œThe traders who contracted imports from Pakistan perhaps found the freight-on-board (FOB) price of $545 per ton attractive enough to buy. They stand to gain $15-$20 a ton after paying a duty of 10%,â€ said a New Delhi-based trader, who did not wish to be named.

India, the worldâ€™s top consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, levies a 10% tax on sugar imports.

Whites from Pakistan have been booked for delivery at the eastern Haldia port, a second trader said.

Earlier, Pakistan allowed exports of 200,000 tons of sugar on top of the 300,000 tons already permitted, a producersâ€™ body said, as it looked to trim surplus stocks and bolster domestic prices.

â€œThere was a request to allow (extra) exports of 400,000 tons but the cabinet gave its permission for 200,000 tons,â€ Shunaid Qureshi, chairman of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, told Reuters.

The countryâ€™s sugar consumption is pegged at around 4-4.2 million tons, and it started the 2012-13 year with around 400,000 tons of stock.